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Report: 16 Employees Accept Philadelphia Inquirer Buyout Packages
Published:
Friday news coming to us via Jeff Blumenthal at the Philadelphia Business Journal, who reports that Inquirer/Daily News/Philly.com bosses might be shifting to layoffs after not receiving the requisite buyout agreements from employees.
Writes Jeff:
NewsGuild President Diane Mastrull, a longtime business reporter and editor, said, as of Thursday, 16 members had accepted the package. That is well short of the 30 she said management claimed was needed to avoid implementing layoffs. Mastrull said the deadline for accepting the buyouts is Friday, but she does not think there will be 30 takers.
In a show of solidarity, Guild members delivered a petition to Vice President of our People and Culture Lauren Kauffman — Publisher Terry Egger was out of the office — signed by 255 of about 330 members to demand no layoffs.
….
“The possibility of layoffs remains,” Inquirer management said. “However, whether that step is necessary and how many might be affected won’t be known until the voluntary separation program is completed next week.”
Jeff went on to share a couple tweets confirming that sports editor Deborah Woodell and news reporter Jan Hefler would be accepting buyouts.
Blumenthal also reports that newsroom employees eligible for buyouts must be “55 or older and have worked for the company for 20 years or more.” Workers in other departments need to be 50 years old with 10 years experience:
According to the Guild, the buyout packages would include 24 weeks pay and either six months medical coverage or one lump sum of $5,000. That is slightly less than the 26 weeks pay offered by the company during the last round of buyouts in October 2017.
I have not heard of any other sports people making an exit. Mike Kern and Bob Vetrone left via buyout during the last round of staff trimming, which took place a little less than two years ago.
Read Jeff’s full story here:
Inquirer employees fear layoffs after tepid interest in buyout offers
Kevin has been writing about Philadelphia sports since 2009. He spent seven years in the CBS 3 sports department and started with the Union during the team's 2010 inaugural season. He went to the academic powerhouses of Boyertown High School and West Virginia University. email - k.kinkead@sportradar.com